Ornament Review: A Visit from Santa #4 - Fox - 2012 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Cute ornament of Santa and a fox

Cons: The seam attaching the fox's tail to the ornament

The Bottom Line: 

Overall it's cute

But that obvious seam does

Really bother me

Noticeable Seam Mars Santa's Visit with a Fox

When it comes to cute, Hallmark knows how to capture that perfectly in their ornaments.  It's what has pulled me into their A Visit From Santa series.  And despite a noticeable seam in the 2012 edition, I still really do like the fourth entry.

This series features Santa visiting various animals to make sure they have a merry Christmas.  For the fourth year, Santa is visiting a fox.  Santa's decked out in his traditional red coat and hat with a long white beard.  The fringe on his coat is different every year, and this year it's a green stripe with purple diamonds in it.  Santa is bending down to pet the fox, which is a pretty reddish brown color.  Actually, the fox looks fairly realistic except for the smile on his face.

Like the rest in the series, it's cute without being over the top, and the realistic nature of the animal adds to the charm.

So what's my beef with the ornament?  This was obviously several pieces that were glued together, and not very well at that.  Santa's arms are obviously attached separately, but I'm actually okay with them.  My problem is with the tail on the fox.  It's right there at the front of the ornament, and it's obviously a separate piece.  If the end were attached better, you could argue that the tail shouldn't be connected to the body, but you can see the seam on all the sides of the tail.  Honestly, if the tail stuck out a bit from the body except where it should attach, it would look a little better than this.  Then again, this isn't the first time I've complained about this issue with the series.  It was also the case with the polar bear that started the series, and the reason I almost didn't start it at all.

Because Santa is standing next to the fox, the ornament creates a nice base, so you can display it standing up if you prefer.

The base is also where you'll find the 4 in a Christmas tree symbol, denoting that this is the fourth in one of Hallmark's official series.

The hook for hanging the ornament is located on the side of Santa's head.  You'd think at first that it's not really centered since it's on one side of the ornament as far as the top portion goes.  But as you look at that point over the base, you realize just how far over Santa is leaning.  It really is near the center of the weight of the ornament.  The result is that the ornament tips back slightly, but I don't think it's too bad.  It looks straight unless you look at it very critically, and it allows you to see Santa's face easier.

Despite my rant about the seam in the fox, I really do like this ornament.  It makes me glad that I started the A Visit From Santa ornament series.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Visits from Santa.

Original Price: $12.95